Lame duck or not, Ryan eager to coach 2014 Jets - Part 1

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan reached an agreement on a multiyear contract extension, the team confirmed Thursday.

Ryan had one year remaining on a deal he reworked in 2010, worth about $3 million annually. Ryan's new contract keeps him in New York at least through the 2016 season, according to ESPN.

"I'm no different than any of our fans: I'm an ordinary guy that's been given an unbelievable opportunity," Ryan said in a statement. "I've said all along, 'I'm glad to be a Jet. I'm happy to be a Jet.' That's never changed. I know what we all want and we're striving to get there.

"But it's not about me. We're already into our offseason planning. There are a lot of areas where we can improve and we can't wait to get this thing rolling."

Ryan, 51, has gone 42-38 since his arrival to New York in 2009, not including a 4-2 record in the postseason. Ryan made the AFC Championship in his first two seasons but he failed to take the Jets to the playoffs in the past three seasons.

After the Jets' final game when they beat the Miami Dolphins to finish 8-8, team owner Woody Johnson announced he was bringing back Ryan for the 2014 season.

In 2008, Ryan lost out on the Ravens' head coaching job to John Harbaugh -- under whom Ryan spent the subsequent season as a defensive coordinator. Ryan was named the Jets head coach in January 2009 and not only hung on to his job following the 2012 season -- when general manager Mike Tannenbaum was fired -- but kept it as well under first-year general manager John Idzik following the 2013 season.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan reached an agreement on a multiyear contract extension, the team confirmed Thursday.

Ryan had one year remaining on a deal he reworked in 2010, worth about $3 million annually. Ryan's new contract keeps him in New York at least through the 2016 season, according to ESPN.

"I'm no different than any of our fans: I'm an ordinary guy that's been given an unbelievable opportunity," Ryan said in a statement. "I've said all along, 'I'm glad to be a Jet. I'm happy to be a Jet.' That's never changed. I know what we all want and we're striving to get there.

"But it's not about me. We're already into our offseason planning. There are a lot of areas where we can improve and we can't wait to get this thing rolling."

Ryan, 51, has gone 42-38 since his arrival to New York in 2009, not including a 4-2 record in the postseason. Ryan made the AFC Championship in his first two seasons but he failed to take the Jets to the playoffs in the past three seasons.

After the Jets' final game when they beat the Miami Dolphins to finish 8-8, team owner Woody Johnson announced he was bringing back Ryan for the 2014 season.

The Jets lost seven games by at least 10 points and were outscored by 97 points this year, the largest negative point differential for a .500 or better team since the AFL/NFL merger.

Ryan said the Jets -- who were torn apart by locker room strife in 2011 -- were a close-knit bunch that was better than the sum of their parts. Such chemistry has both Ryan and Idzik believing the Jets are closer to contention than some of their losses this season might have suggested.

"Every year in this league is a new year," Idzik said. "There is nothing promised to us because we won eight games and we finished on a high note and we're on a two-game winning streak. The gavel has dropped on 2013. We look to 2014, we have a real fine nucleus here in the building. We have a fine nucleus in the locker room.

"That doesn't start us off with any wins. Our guys think that way. If we continue to bring those type of people in and we nurture that mindset, then yes, we will ascend. Yes, we will get to where we want to get."